Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Vegetarian Jambalaya

Now that the fall weather is upon us and the air has a little snappiness to it, it's time to start making those hearty, filling, and stick-to-your-rib dishes. You want food that not only fills you with comfort, but keeps you satisfied for hours. This jambalaya fits perfectly into that category.

I love okra, but I don't use it enough, so I wanted to find a dish to incorporate it. Although this is a far cry from a traditional jambalaya with shrimp, chicken, and sausage, the addition of mushrooms and black eyed peas make it hearty enough to be satisfying. The chipotle bouillon cubes add a great smoky flavor but not much heat, so don't be afraid to add as much Louisiana hot sauce as you desire.

Heat olive oil in large saucepan. Meanwhile, take okra out of freezer, unwrap, and allow to sit on counter during preparation to start thawing. In pan, saute onion, garlic, and crumbled boiullon cubes for a few minutes until onion starts to become tender. Add peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, thyme, basil, and salt. Stir well to combine. Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Add okra, black eyed peas, and rice and return to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer. Cook for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender. Remove from heat, and add Tabasco and liquid smoke.

In a deep non-reactive saute pan with a tight fitting lid, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the yellow onion, bell pepper, celery and saute, stirring frequently until the vegetables are very tender and lightly brownded, 10-15 minutes.Add the garlic, bay leaves, oregano, thuyme and cayenne and cook stirring just until the garlic releases its fragrance, about 2 minutes. Add 1.2 cup of the green onions, the eggplant, tomatoes, stock and rice. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. Raise the heat to medium high, bring to a boil and the immediately reduce the heat to low. Stir well, scraping the pan bottom to be sure nothing sticks. Cover tightly and cook, without stirring, for 20 minutes. Uncover abd check to see if the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. If not, re-cpver and cook for a few more minutes.Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to let stand, covered for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and stir lightly with a fork to fluff before serving. garnish with the remaining green onions.

Nabeela - that looks really good. I'll have to give that version a try too!

Hillary - I love them. I found them in one of the local grocery stores and immediately bought 3 boxes. I also used them in the Chipolte Black Bean Stew, located in the sidebar. It adds such great flavor!

Thanks for the amazing evening snack! One question though- Was the container you brought the entire recipe meant to serve eight? Jodi and I found it so delicious it was a struggle to save any for the others to try (we did managed to leave a few pieces of rice and a slice of pepper). Next time I'm not sure I'll be able to exercise that much self control:-)

Thanks for the great recipe. I love Jambalaya but I don't eat meat so this recipe is perfect. I can't wait to try it. And the Chipotle Bouillon sounds delicious - I'm gonna keep my eye out for them next time I go to the grocery store. You think they're at any grocery store?